Electrical current-carrying flexible hose has heretofore been available wherein one or more electrical wires are embedded within an extruded section. A typical example is that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,167,645. The weight of such hose is considerable due to the solid extrusion around the conductors, and the extrusion process is quite slow. Flexibility is also limited due to the relatively thick walls. Other current-carrying flexible hose designs such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,224,463 do not involve a solid extrusion with an embedded conductor but in those designs the insulated wires are exposed internally to the fluid being conveyed. In instances where the conveyed fluid is water, perhaps containing abrasive materials, the useful life of the conductors is limited because of the wear to which they are subjected.
One relevant form of interlocking strip flexible hose in the prior art is that described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,199,541 wherein interlocking tongue and groove connecting elements are formed in edge portions of the strip. Such designs do not include electrical conductors and consist only of the single convolute extrusion. One object of the present invention is to improve upon that concept of interlocking strip flexible hose such so that the hose includes electrical current-carrying means. In making such modifications the disadvantages of prior art electrical current-carrying flexible hose, in parrticular excess weight and poor flexibility, are avoided.